Mar 2, 2018 Taxpayers—not big pharma—have funded the research behind every new drug since 2010. (Also US public for decades before that were caught in similar traps by big pharma-gov. collusion. -r).
The problem wasn’t a tax hike or new regulations: the problem was that the Tump budget included deep cuts to the budget of the National Institutes of Health.
If those cuts had gone through, they would have exposed one of the biggest lies told about Big Pharma: that the current system of patents and price-gouging is just an unfortunate necessity to cover the cost of all their brave and noble R&D work.
Trump’s original spending proposal for fiscal year 2019, released last month, included major cuts to not just to the NIH, but the National Science Foundation as well. It is those two publicly funded entities — not Big Pharma — that support the bulk of the country’s basic research into diseases and pathways to new treatments.
That’s why the cuts were especially unwelcome in the executive suites of drug and biotech companies….the Center for Integration of Science and Industry (CISI) says no NIH funds, no new drugs, no patents, no profits, no industry….
Between 2010 and 2016: yhe authors found that each of the 210 medicines approved for market came out of research supported by the NIH. Of the $100 billion it spent nationally during this period, more than half of it — $64 billion — ended up helping the development of 84 first-in-class drugs.
But the NIH doesn’t get to use the profits from these drugs to fund more research, the way it might under a model based on developing needed drugs and curing the sick, as opposed to serving Wall Street. Instead publicly funded labs conduct years of basic research to get to a breakthrough, which is then snatched up, tweaked, and patented (privatized) by companies who turn around and reap billions with 1,000-times-cost mark-ups on drugs developed with taxpayer money.
Those companies then spend the profits on executive bonuses and share buybacks and lavish mass marketing campaigns to increase sales of amphetamines, benzos, opioids and dick pills.
And with what’s left over they lobby to keep threats to this massive scam at bay, all while scooping up more NIH-funded breakthroughs and starting the process anew….Why are we allowing drug companies to gain proprietary control over taxpayer-funded research, then turn around and price-gouge those same taxpayers to literal death? “The impact of NIH-funded research again demonstrates that we need to increase government funding for infectious and neglected diseases. We can’t rely on Pharma to set R&D agendas shaped by how much profit can be generated.”
https://other98.com/taxpayers-fund-pharma-research-development/
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2-11-20 Today about 80% of pharmaceuticals sold in the U.S. are produced in China….China is not only the dominant global supplier of pharmaceuticals, but it is also the largest supplier of medical devices in the U.S. These include things like MRI equipment, surgical gowns, and equipment that measures oxygen levels in the blood. https://theconversation.com/the-silent-threat-of-the-coronavirus-americas-dependence-on-chinese-pharmaceuticals-130670
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2-14-20 International drugmakers have largely halted operations in China, in line with recommendations designed to prevent the spread of the virus. This includes firms such as Danish diabetes giant Novo Nordisk (NOV: N) and contract manufacturing organizations (CMO) such as Swiss firm Lonza. South Korea’s Celltrion Healthcare (Kosdaq: 068270) has recalled its workers from the area. https://www.thepharmaletter.com/article/some-biotech-work-resuming-in-coronavirus-hit-wuhan
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3-13-20 China’s leaders covered up severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), another coronavirus, for over a month after it emerged in 2002, and held the doctor who blew the whistle in military custody for 45 days. …
Last year, Li Daokui, a prominent Chinese economist, suggested curtailing Chinese API exports to the US as a countermeasure in the trade war. “Once the export is reduced,” Li noted, “the medical systems of some developed countries will not work.”…Almost 70% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients for medicines made in India come from China. https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/china-exploit-control-of-pharmaceutical-exports-by-brahma-chellaney-2020-03
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3-12-20 Doctors in China, Thailand and Japan say they’ve used HIV drugs lopinavir and ritonavir — sometimes in combination with other medicines — in a handful of coronavirus cases, where patients have managed to recover….The Chinese experts recommended he be treated with the antimalarial medicine chloroquine and the HIV drug Kaletra — which is a combination of lopinavir and ritonavir.
“Chinese experts suggest to treat with medicine to slow the virus first. Don’t wait,” Cai said. “Definitely I would not be here today [without them].”…
Doctors in Thailand and Japan have also reported using lopinavir and ritonavir to fight COVID-19 and China last month began testing Kaletra as treatment. https://nypost.com/2020/03/12/hiv-drugs-are-being-used-as-part-of-coronavirus-treatment/
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World sales of originator product: 2015: US$700 million; 2014: $870 million; 2013: $962 million; 2012: $733 million; 2011: $1.2 billion; 2010: $1.3 billion; 2009: $1.4 billion; 2008: $1.5 billion; 2007: $1.3 billion; 2004: $897 million; 2003: $754 million; 2002: $551 million; 2001: $292 million.1
In Brazil, more than 70,000 HIV-positive people use LPV/r. The original patent on the drug is about to expire, but AbbVie (branch of Abbott), the current patent holder, is using many strategies to extend their monopoly.
In December 2015, AbbVie entered into a new licence agreement with the MPP on the adult formulation of LPV/r; it covers all countries in Africa.31 Due to its defined geographic coverage, people in all countries outside of Africa remain excluded where patents are currently in force, unless other legal and policy measures are used (such as issuing a compulsory licence). For instance, with the compulsory licence on LPV/r, Thailand has secured more affordable generic versions of LPV/r, and can continue to do so from companies that sign the voluntary licence, whilst neighbouring countries such as Malaysia will remain unable to access affordable versions of LPV/r. In July 2016, the MPP announced its newly signed sublicence agreements with the Chinese generics company Desano, and the Indian generics companies Emcure and Aurobindo for the adult formulation.4 https://msfaccess.org/sites/default/files/MSF_assets/HIV_AIDS/Docs/UTW_Drug_Profiles_LPV_r.pdf
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Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is advancing into preclinical trials for coronavirus vaccine. The company crafts human antibodies out of genetically engineered mice and hopes to treat coronavirus in the same way. Currently, Regeneron is immunizing its antibody-generating mice with a harmless analog of the novel coronavirus. If results are positive, Regeneron’s candidate will be ready for human testing by late summer. The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current quarter is 35.5%.
DNA-based immune therapy and vaccine developer, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. INO has received grants from CEPI to develop its DNA vaccine, which may generate protective antibodies and protect patients from infection.
This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s expected earnings growth rate for the next quarter is 23.3%.
Novavax, Inc. NVAX. Since the last week of February 2020, the company has begun testing its new coronavirus vaccine candidates in animal models. The findings from the preclinical testing will help Novavax determine an optimal candidate for human studies. This Zacks Rank #3 company’s expected earnings growth rate for the next quarter is 74.6%. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/5-drug-makers-gain-coronavirus-140202200.html
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3-14-20 On Feb. 4 Regeneron announced it is working on developing monoclonal antibodies as treatments for COVID-19. The company’s VelocImmune platform uses genetically-engineered mice with humanized immune systems in preclinical testing. “We are aiming to have hundreds of thousands of prophylactic doses ready for human testing by end of August,” a spokesperson said. Christos Kyratsous, VP of infectious disease R&D and viral vector technology, is running the project. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-nine-companies-are-working-on-coronavirus-treatments-or-vaccines-heres-where-things-stand-2020-03-06?mod=pharmaceutical
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8-20-2018 “I sort of view Big Pharma as an industry, as an octopus with many tentacles, and at the end of every tentacle is a wad of cash,” says David Mitchell, president and founder of US-based campaign group Patients for Affordable Drugs, who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2010 and expects to be in continuous treatment for the rest of his life. “It reaches into academic medical centres, professional organisations, patient organisations, state houses, campaigns, Congress – they’re everywhere.” https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/people-vs-big-pharma-tackling-industrys-trust-issues/
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Tina Rosenberg recently published a rather damning article in the New York Times, detailing the outrageous costs associated with the provision of HIV medications in the US. According to Rosenberg, HIV triple therapies that would cost $75 a year in countries like Zimbabwe cost a staggering $39,000 per year in the United States. https://areomagazine.com/2018/09/27/hiv-medication-price-gouging-and-health-care-inequality-in-the-united-states/
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1-31-19 (CNN) Pharmaceutical giant Purdue Pharma LP secretly pursued a plan, dubbed "Project Tango," to become "an end-to-end pain provider" by selling both opioids and drugs to treat opioid addiction, all while owners on the board—members of one of America's richest families—reaped more than $4 billion in opioid profits, according to a lawsuit newly unredacted on Thursday. https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/31/health/purdue-pharma-unredacted-lawsuit/index.html
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www.statnews.com › 2018/02/12 › nih-funding-drug-development
Feb 12, 2018 - More than $100 billion in NIH funding went toward research that contributed, either directly or indirectly, to the the drugs, which were approved
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